Does privacy outlive death, asks SC

Does privacy outlive death, asks SC

Context

The Supreme Court has thrown open the floor for debate on whether an individual’s fundamental right to privacy subsists after death. The question rose in a challenge raised against a Madras High Court order to produce the Aadhaar data records of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for verification of her fingerprints

Petition was filed by

The apex court stayed the High Court order on a petition filed by AIADMK leaders

Argument by the petitioners

• They argued that the fundamental right to privacy remains alive even after the person’s death
• The petition said the “intrusion” by the High Court into Jayalalithaa’s privacy would not have happened had she been alive. The court would have been forced to get her consent.“Her death does not make any difference as Right to Privacy is available to every citizenduring his/ her life time and even after the death of that person,” the petition said

SC will examine

The apex court has decided to examine whether the High Court’s order “amounts to intruding of fundamental right to privacy of a third party.”

Important issues

The issue raises a significant question as a part of modern man’s personal life and identity is embedded in the virtual world

• The case raises the issue whether courts and authorities can order to see an individual’s personal data without consent after his or her death

Backdrop

The examination has to be done in the backdrop of the landmark verdict of nine judges of the Supreme Court which upheld privacy as a fundamental right on August 24. The judgement is silent on whether privacy continues after death.

Or does the definition of “life” in the judgement extend to after-life